Florida or Bust!

As I was contemplating the title for this post, I decided to Google where the phrase "[destination] or Bust" came from.  I already had an idea on the origin, but wiki.answers.com gave me a little more detail:

The term began in the 1930s when many dust bowl farmers left drought stricken Oklahoma for California with the phrase "California or bust" written on signs attached to their trucks.  Due to the drought and the Great Depression, these farmers were literally financially bankrupt and using the last of their few dollars to make the trek west. 

So....  there's a little history for you.  You're welcome.  :)

By now most of you have heard that we are moving to Jacksonville, Florida (although it seems like every other day I'm clarifying for someone who missed my original announcement, so perhaps this is news to you!).  We aren't even close to being broke like those farmers during the Great Depression, but finances have definitely been tight since Scott lost his job last September.  He was miserable for over 5 years while he worked for his last employer, so he has been desperately searching for something new all this time.  Neither of us want to leave Kansas City very badly, but since he cannot find employment here, we have no choice but to go elsewhere.

On Wednesday we left to begin the drive from Kansas City to Florida (a very long drive, in case you were wondering!).  We stayed the night in Tupelo, MS that evening (birthplace of Elvis!), and drove the rest of the way to Jacksonville on Thursday.  It was a pretty uneventful drive -- no bad weather or traffic issues other than occasional road construction -- although somewhere along the line someone stole our debit card info.  :(  We discovered the fraudulent charges on Friday morning and immediately canceled our cards.  Fortunately the crooks didn't get much and our bank is reimbursing us.  We are still waiting on our new cards, so that's been the most inconvenient part. 

Until last week, this Midwestern girl had never set foot in Florida, and it is WAY different than what I was expecting!  For instance, did you know that Florida is flatter than a pancake?  At least the northern part.  Seriously, there are NO hills, which means you can't look off in the distance for a familiar landmark, nor can you scout ahead to see why traffic is crawling.  

In addition to that, a lot of Jacksonville is heavily wooded with very tall pine trees.  Not the Christmas tree kind with the foliage down low, but the foresty, towering kind with big, wide trunks.  There were times when we were driving around that I felt a little claustrophobic with trees on either side and a view of nothing but the cars in front of us.  We were definitely not in Kansas City anymore.

Most of our time in Jacksonville (or "Jax" as the locals like to abbreviate it) was spent looking for an apartment for Scott to live in temporarily, getting moved into said apartment, and stocking him up with basic supplies.  All of that sounds simple enough when you type it out, but it ended up being a lot of stress for both of us.  We also had to buy a new mattress for Scott, since our Jeep was stuffed too full to pack any furniture other than a couple of folding chairs and a card table.

On Saturday afternoon we took time to go to the beach where this Missouri girl put her feet in the ocean for the very first time!  I had seen the ocean a few times -- from the air as I was flying to and from Israel, and once on a cold, dreary day on the Oregon coast.  I have a phobia of deep, open water, so I've never had a strong desire to see the ocean up close.  I can swim and am fine in a pool, but something about the depth and not knowing what is lurking below can freak me out to the point of having a panic attack.  I'm usually okay in a lake or river as long as my feet are touching the bottom, or if I have a floaty to cling to for dear life.  ;)  We weren't dressed for the beach that day, so we only went out to our knees, which was pretty awesome.  :)  Considering my phobia, I was surprised at how badly I wanted to go deeper.  Perhaps the next time I will dress appropriately and actually play in the waves...  maybe.  :)  I really loved that experience and can't wait to go again! 

I'm standing in the ocean!

Scott in the ocean.  :o)

Everyone is supposed to do this at least once, right?

Lucky shot!

I flew back to KC on Sunday and am planning to stay here until we sell our house, after which I will join Scott in Jax.  We're hoping the house sells quickly, but have a lot to do to get it ready first!  I haven't started any projects yet, but I have a list which seems to grow a little longer each day.   I should have plenty of people to help me, and Scott will be home a few weekends here and there, so we'll get it done.  Eventually.  :)